Patty and Azalea eBook

“Oh, yes. And I shan’t have anything
much to do. Mrs. Chase is a host in herself,
and Nurse Winnie takes full charge of my child,—­with
Susie’s help.”

“Do you own that infant exclusively, ma’am?
I notice you always say my child!”

“As I’ve told you, you don’t count.
Why, you won’t really count until the day when
some nice young man comes to ask you for the hand of
Mademoiselle Fleurette.”

“Heaven forbid the day! I’ll send
him packing!”

“Indeed you won’t! I want my daughter
to marry and live happy ever after,—­as
I’m doing.”

“Are you, Patty? Are you happy?”

As Billee asked this question a dozen times a day
for the sheer joy of watching Patty’s lovely
face smile an affirmative, she didn’t think it
necessary to enlarge on the subject.

“I do be,” she said, succinctly, and Farnsworth
believed her.

“Now, I propose,” she went on, “that
we have a week-end house-party. That’s
the nicest way to show off the place—­”

“Patty! Are you growing proud and ostentatious?”

“I’m proud—­very much so, of
my home and my family,—­but nobody ever
called me ostentatious! What do you mean?”

“Nothing. I spoke thoughtlessly. But
you are puffed up with pride and vanity,—­I
think.”

“Who wouldn’t be—­with all this?”

Patty swept an arm off toward the acres of their domain,
and smiled happily in her delight of ownership.

“Well, anyway,” she went on, “we’ll
ask Elise and Bumble and Phil and Kenneth and Chick
and—­”

“Don’t get too many,—­you’ll
wear yourself all out just talking to them.”

“No: a big party entertain themselves better
than a few. Well, I’ll fix up the list.
Anybody you want specially?”

“No, not now. Some time we’ll have
Mona and Roger, of course; and some time Daisy—­”

“Yes, when we have Adele and Jim. Oh, won’t
we have lots of jolly parties! Thank goodness
we’ve plenty of guest rooms.”

“Are they all in order?”

“Not quite. I have to make lace things
and fiddle-de-fads for some of them.”

“Can’t you buy those?”

“Some I do, but some I like to make. It’s
no trouble, and they’re prettier.”

“Let’s go back around by the garage, I
want to see Larry.”

They strolled around through the well-kept vegetable
gardens and chicken yards, and came to the garage.
Here were the big cars and Patty’s own little
runabout. Larry, the chauffeur, touched his cap
with a respectful smile at Patty, and as Farnsworth
talked to the man, Patty stood looking off across
the grounds and wondering if any one in the whole world
loved a home as she did.